Customized Itineraries

Waterways Double Your Foliage Pleasure
Looking for a way to double your fall foliage fun? It's easy - just head for the water! "When you get in a canoe, the water reflects the colors," says Gail Menschel. "It's so amazing! The color is all around you." Gail and Neal Menschel, who run Nashoba Paddlers in Groton, enjoy introducing visitors to the glories of fall on the water.

Running for more than 50 miles, the Nashua River offers many recreational opportunities. Some of the most beautiful spots are in the Groton and Pepperell area, Neal says, although he can rattle off scenic tours in nearly every community through which the river's two branches run. "People often connect the river with factories; they think of the river as it runs through Fitchburg, where it was used for power. But about half of the Nashua is surrounded by greenway and is very quiet and undeveloped. You think you're miles from civilization. "And it's a user-friendly river, perfect for kayaks and canoes." It's also fishable and swimmable, following more than two decades of clean-up, spearheaded by the Nashua River Watershed Association. "The south branch of the Nashua is absolutely pristine; it's all protected" by conservation, he notes.

Nashoba Paddlers is located right on the river on Route 119 in Groton, and Neal has spent many a fall day introducing visitors to the foliage reflections. "You get such a different perspective, looking at the foliage from the water. It changes everything. For me, it becomes magical." It's also a great way to see wildlife - moose, otters, beavers, and muskrats and a host of migratory birds thrive in the area and often seem unconcerned with the people passing by. Over the past decade, Nashoba Paddlers has developed a number of great tours in the area for individuals, families and groups, with paddles from a couple of hours to a full day. "There's nothing like a crisp fall day paddling in a canoe. It's like paddling upside down on a color palette. "Our mission is to introduce people to the beauty of this resource, so they will come to love it. And when they love it, they become stewards of the river," Neal says. To that end, Nashoba Paddlers offers a number of popular educational programs, particularly in the summer. Among Neal's recommendations for foliage viewing trips:

Bolton Flats. Put in at Route 117 in Lancaster and take out at Still River, making a three-hour paddle. The Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. Put in at Still River, and paddle to Ayer, to the old Ayer Ice House dam, a two-hour trip. From the Ayer Ice House dam to Route 119 in Groton and Pepperell, about a four-hour paddle. At the other end of the region, the Connecticut River offers some spectacular foliage-viewing oppotunities. And one popular way to enjoy the foliage is on the Quinnetukut II, Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center's 60-seat riverboat. From early September through mid October , the boat makes scheduled narrated, 12-mile trips through the French King Gorge. The 1 1/2 hour tours are offered Wednesdays through Sunday. Use your own power - or someone else's - but don't miss the great foliage along the region's waterways!

Walking Tours Uncover Gems
Take a stroll amid the lush green hills and river valleys of north central Massachusetts, between the tiny towns and open farmland, sit three treasures of the Johnny Appleseed region. They're called Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster - three cities that speak eloquently of the region's history. From a farming past, through the industrial revolution, these cities have grown and prospered. But as they've moved along history's highway, they haven't abandoned their past. No visit to the Johnny Appleseed region would be complete without a day spent on a walking tour of one or more of these small cities. Churches, public buildings and commercial edifices built with locally-quarried granite speak volumes about the geography, commerce and working families of years gone by. Brick factories nestled on river banks tell the story of water power and the role it played in the region's development. And within the circle of these grand buildings, the communities have maintained public spaces - traditional long commons and monument-studded parks - for all to enjoy across the centuries. Fitchburg's Main Street walking tour encompasses an area from the gracious Upper Common to a bend in the road known as Moran Square. Within its bounds you'll find stunning architecture and monuments that will touch your heart. The area's five churches include two designed by Fitchburg architect H.M. Francis, and another by American architect Richard Upjohn. Be sure to visit Rollstone Boulder, the symbol of the city and a reminder of the glacial age. Leominster's downtown district, along route 12, includes Carter Park, where you can reflect on the heroism of Oliver Hazzard, a black soldier of the Civil War's 54th Regiment. In the center of downtown, walk up West Street to see the life sized Johnny Appleseed statue carved from a huge tree trunk; it's located in City Hall. Gardner offers two walking tours, one passing through the Uptown Historic District, and a second through the West Gardner Square Historic District. The Uptown walk includes the First Congregational Church, with its 125-foot bell and clock tower, and an Octagonal House on Green Street. Maps to guide you through the cities' walking tours can be found at the Johnny Appleseed Visitor's Center on Route 2.

Farms and Families - A Perfect Fit
Enjoy playing with the farm animals here in North Central Massachusetts! Have you laughed with a llama lately? Petted a poitu? Beheld a bison? You can do all that - and much more! - at the farms along the Johnny Appleseed Trail.

Endangered farm animals are in the spotlight at Davis Farmland in Sterling. Larry Davis has spent years bringing in a variety of animals that are often a little...well, odd. Many of these critters are among the very last of their kind in the world, and while they bear strong resemblance to many of their more familiar cousins, they often sport unusually long hair or other distinctive attributes that set them aside from the pack. In addition to the unusual livestock, there's an abundance of more familiar animals, along with play areas and lots of farm equipment to fuel the imagination of young "farmers." Overlook Farm's 270 acres in Rutland, support the mission of Heifer International by educating visitors about the agency's efforts to eliminate hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture. You can visit farm animals, hike woodland trails and more.

And you don't have to travel to the wild, wild, west to see the buffalo roam - you can ride through pastures where bison graze at Alta Vista Farm in Rutland. It's an experience you'll never forget!